To infinitive / to be past participle ?

[crazYgeeK]

I have a good book to read here !
I have a good book to be read here !
There is no item to review !
There is no item to be reviewed !
Just a little confusion, what is the difference between them ?
Thank you so much !

 

[5jj]

Just a little confusion, what is the difference between them ?

Not a lot.

With the active infinitive, to read, to review, we may be thinking more of the person - in this case, I.

With the passive infinitive, to be read, to be reviewed, we may be thinking more of the action. It is not necessarily the speaker who will be doing the reading/reviewing.

 

[charliedeut]

Not a lot.

With the active infinitive, to read, to review, we may be thinking more of the person - in this case, I.

With the passive infinitive, to be read, to be reviewed, we may be thinking more of the action. It is not necessarily the speaker who will be doing the reading/reviewing.

Hi fivejedjon,

In using the passive in these examples, I can easily imagine a parent telling a child: "I have a good book to be read here!", trying to (a) remind the child the "obligation" to read it (i.e. the book will not read itself, you must read it) and (b) knowing it is an obligation, the parent is trying to convince the kid that the book is good (or fun, or whatever).

Is my perception right or just too far-fetched?

Thanks in advance

Greetings,

Charliedeut

 

[5jj]

In using the passive in these examples, I can easily imagine a parent telling a child: "I have a good book to be read here!", trying to (a) remind the child the "obligation" to read it (i.e. the book will not read itself, you must read it) and (b) knowing it is an obligation, the parent is trying to convince the kid that the book is good (or fun, or whatever).

Is my perception right or just too far-fetched?

Your suggestion is certainly possible.

However, my original ideas were prefaced by "we may be thinking...". I don't think it's possible to state emphatically that there s a difference between the meanings of the two forms.

I think it is possible for the parent in your situation to say, "I have a good book to read here", possibly having in her mind, "I have a good book (for you) to read"

 

[birdeen's call]

I have a good book to read here!
I have a good book to be read here!
There is no item to review!
There is no item to be reviewed!
Just a little confusion, what is the difference between them?
Thank you so much!

Hi, crazYgeek,

Please note that there should be no spaces before question marks and exclamation marks.

 

[crazYgeeK]

Hi, crazYgeek,

Please note that there should be no spaces before question marks and exclamation marks.

What an useful advice!
Thank you!
Is this always right?
To me it's clearer and more legible to place a space (not spaces as you said) before question marks or exclamation marks. So why must we write them right behind the sentence without any space?

 

[birdeen's call]

What an useful advice!
Thank you!
Is this always right?
To me it's clearer and more legible to place a space (not spaces as you said) before question marks or exclamation marks. So why must we write them right behind the sentence without any space?

Yes, it's always right. Surely, spaces before periods, commas, exclamation marks, question marks, colons and semicolons are less clear to those who are used to seeing those punctuation marks without spaces. And most English speakers are. Also, note that when you use a computer text editor, and put a space before a punctuation mark, it may end up at the beginning of the next line.

(Please note: it's always "a useful..." and "advice" is uncountable anyway.)